2009 AAPC Networker of the Year Revealed

SALT LAKE CITY — Nov. 18, 2009 — The American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC, www.aapc.com) has named AAPC member Lori Hendrix, CPC, CPC-H, CIRCC, CPC-I, of Georgia, as the 2009 Networker of the Year. This respected, annual award recognizes the AAPC member who represents the higher standards of coding set by the AAPC and who shares the benefits of being a member with fellow coders.

The AAPC launched a membership drive, the “Drive to 100K,” in March, running through the end of August to encourage its current members to refer colleagues and other medical coders to join the AAPC. As part of the drive, top referrers could earn rewards and prizes that accumulated based on the number of referrals he or she logged on the AAPC Web site.

A 10-year member of the AAPC, Hendrix is a proponent of AAPC membership. After learning about the membership drive, she thought the deals were very beneficial to new members and passed the information along to any individuals she knew who were considering taking the coding exam. Hendrix’s enthusiasm for the AAPC earned her the title of 2009 Networker of the Year. This is not the first time she has been recognized; she also earned this prestigious recognition in 2003.

Hendrix has a great deal of experience and knowledge to share with her colleagues at WellStar Health System, one of Georgia’s largest health care systems. Hendrix works as the coding coordinator for the hospitalists program and is a member of the company’s coding assurance team in the compliance department, providing routine monitoring and auditing to ensure the hospitalists comply with federal coding and billing regulations.

Hendrix will be honored at the AAPC National Conference in Nashville, Tenn., in June 2010. She will also be featured in a future issue of “Coding Edge,” the AAPC’s monthly member magazine. In addition to this recognition, she also received a complimentary registration to the 2010 annual conference, a waiver for annual membership dues and a set of 2010 codebooks, among other prizes.

The AAPC also recognized nine other individuals as “top referrers” in the membership drive. The AAPC has set a goal to reach 100,000 members by the end of 2010.